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Columbus Municipal School District

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At a glance

123^rdof 133 Mississippi districts▼ 4

Better than 7% of Mississippi districts

Elementary 4 Middle 2 High 2 Alternative 1Grades PK, KG-12

2630 McArthur Drive
Columbus, MS 39703·(662) 241-7400·All Mississippi district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 7.5% of districts

Schools

2,780

Students

Top rankedColumbus Middle School229^th of 263 Mississippi middle schools

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Biggest riser

Columbus Middle School up 15 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Columbus High School 11.6 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

1★

0★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Mississippi districts →See the top-ranked Mississippi schools →

Summary:

The Columbus Municipal School District in Mississippi serves roughly 3,011 students across seven schools: five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The district ranks 122 out of 134 Mississippi districts, placing it in the bottom 9th percentile with a zero-star rating. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, with rates between 99.59% and 100%.

School performance varies considerably. Cook Elementary School is currently the top-ranked elementary school, sitting at the 13th percentile with the district's strongest elementary English Language Arts scores and relatively low absenteeism at 18.3%. Sale Elementary School has the lowest chronic absenteeism in the district at just 10.9% and posted solid 5th-grade science scores. Franklin Academy is a notable outlier, posting some of the district's best test scores, including 5th-grade science at 67.5% proficiency, above the state average, yet it also has the highest chronic absenteeism at 44.6%. Columbus Middle School shows the only clear upward trend, improving from the 8th to the 13th percentile with gains in every subject. Columbus High School faces the biggest challenges, including 40.7% chronic absenteeism, an 84.3% graduation rate, and only about 23% English II proficiency.

The district as a whole is under serious academic stress, with most proficiency rates running 15–35 points below state averages. However, variation between schools offers some hope: Sale Elementary School shows that excellent attendance is achievable, Franklin Academy proves that high-poverty students can reach state proficiency in specific subjects, and the middle school demonstrates that steady progress is possible. At the same time, several elementary schools have lost ground in state rankings, and 2025–2026 4th-grade test scores dropped sharply at Cook Elementary School, Sale Elementary School, Fairview Elementary School, and Stokes Beard Elementary School. Parents should pay close attention to these school-by-school differences, as they are substantial.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MAAP English Language Arts (2026)				MAAP Mathematics (2026)				MAAP Algebra I (2026)	MAAP English II (2026)	MAAP Science (2026)	MAAP Biology (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MAAP English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 4th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	MAAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 3rd Grade	MAAP Mathematics 4th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 7th Grade	MAAP Mathematics 8th Grade	MAAP Algebra I End of Course	MAAP English II End of Course	MAAP Science 8th Grade	MAAP Biology End of Course	Total
Stokes Beard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	311 Martin Luther King Dr	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7270	369	26	14.4	100.0%	6 (1.6%)	353 (95.7%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	10.9	355^th of 377 public elementary schools	5.8%		17.8	338^th of 383 public elementary schools	11.7%	17	28.8	15.5			25.7	22.4							$11,893
Columbus High School	Public	9-12	215 Hemlock St	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7200	865	74	11.6	99.8%	18 (2.1%)	813 (94.0%)	23 (2.7%)	7 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	10.8	208^th of 224 public high schools	7.1%		6.2	222^nd of 232 public high schools	4.3%	14									31.1	23.0		47.1	$13,613
Cook Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	2217 7th Street N	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7180	415	29	14.2	99.8%	18 (4.3%)	358 (86.3%)	25 (6.0%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	16	329^th of 377 public elementary schools	12.7%		23	313^th of 383 public elementary schools	18.3%	16	31.9	32.6			24.5	27.0							$12,452
Fairview Elementary School	Public	K-4	225 Airline Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7140	244	16	15.4	99.6%	2 (0.8%)	239 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	13.3	339^th of 377 public elementary schools	10.1%		18.9	332^nd of 383 public elementary schools	13.3%	7	32.4	20.6			27.0	23.5							$12,216
Sale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	520 Warpath Road	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7260	290	18	16.4	100.0%	7 (2.4%)	271 (93.4%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	13.7	335^th of 377 public elementary schools	11.1%		27.6	287^th of 383 public elementary schools	25.1%	48	23.0	17.8			29.2	33.4							$12,394
McKellar Vocational Center	Public	8-12	810 N Browder Street	Columbus	39702	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7290	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Cmsd Alternative School	Public, Alternative	1-12	2217 7th St North	Columbus	39701	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	No	(662) 241-7250	0	0	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Columbus Middle School	Public	7-8	175 Hwy 373	Columbus	39705	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	No	No	Yes	(662) 241-7300	597	51	11.6	99.7%	13 (2.2%)	556 (93.1%)	14 (2.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.0%)	17.5	229^th of 263 public middle schools	12.9%		12	244^th of 266 public middle schools	8.3%	15			22.7	25.3			30.8	32.7			37.1		$13,549
Hunt Intermediate School	Public	5-6	924 20th St N	Columbus	39705	Lowndes County	Columbus Municipal School District	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(662) 241-7160	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science	1.02 mi	1
Lowndes County School District	2.38 mi	11	53^rd
West Point Consolidated School District	14.57 mi	8	73^rd
West Point School District	14.57 mi	8
Monroe County School District	16.74 mi	5

See the top MS Mississippi districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Mississippi Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.